Library patrons brace for another change at Bethesda parking lot

County decides to return to a paid parking system in wake of abuses in Rockville

Bethesda Library patrons who park in the library's lot will soon have to pay 75 cents per hour after the first two hours, a change from free, validated parking.

A new pay-parking system at Bethesda Library may take months to install and is drawing ire from library-goers who have already endured three changes to the system in as many years.

The new system, which offers two hours of free parking for library patrons and a 75-cent fee for each additional hour, was approved by the County Council in June to combat perceived abuse of free parking at the Rockville Library.

Both the Bethesda and Rockville libraries currently require patrons to validate parking at an electronic kiosk inside the library. Validation lasts for two hours and can be renewed for free every two hours after that. Under the new system, drivers will still have to validate their parking at the kiosk, but will be charged if they park for longer than two hours.

The County Council voted to require paid parking at the two libraries because the Rockville Library's proximity to Rockville Town Center allowed non-library patrons to validate their spots at the library, then shop or dine in downtown Rockville, without paying a parking fee.

In June county officials stated that the new system could take "up to 90 days" to be installed. But Esther Bowring, a county spokeswoman, said the project may be pushed back even further since the manufacturer of the system software is being asked "to create something unusual."

Bowring said the most likely situation is for the software to be installed in two to three months. The new program will cost the county $8,000, she said.

And while library patrons wait for the new system to be installed, some are wondering whether or not it's worth the hassle.

Judy Gilbert Levey, president of the Friends of the Library, Bethesda chapter, said while the kiosk system wasn't perfect, it still worked well.

"The kiosk system is not without its problems, but we've found that the parking lot is not being abused as much as in the past," she said. "It's a difficult transition whenever there is a change, and I think that will be true now."

Despite the promise of new signage, Gilbert Levey said library users may be confused now that they have gotten used to the free parking system at the kiosk.

But Bethesda customers should be accustomed to changes by now. In the summer of 2006, parking meters were removed from the library's lot after a proposal by County Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg was approved, granting free parking at all of the county's 21 full-service libraries.

The meters had been put in place in an attempt to stop rampant abuse of the parking lot. The library is located less than one-third of a mile from the Bethesda Metro station, and commuters would park at the library lot and take the Metro into work. After the removal of the meters, the kiosk system was put in place several months later to keep non-library users out.

Before the meters were removed, Bethesda was the only county library that charged for parking.

County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Potomac voted in favor of the new system, but said he recognized that there may be some grumblings from the community.

"It wasn't my most popular decision," he said. "But there weren't pretty options here, and I thought the area lent itself to abuse."

Berliner cited new shopping centers along Arlington Road and Bethesda Avenue as places where visitors could walk after parking at the library, abusing the system. By making patrons return every two hours to revalidate their spot, it makes the option less reasonable, he said.

Gilbert Levey disagreed.

"The transition to the kiosk system was confusing, and people are still getting tickets," she said. "Now you're going to ask them to make another change? That's not fair."

Kay Bowman, branch manager for the Bethesda Library, said since the kiosk system has been installed, the library has worked hard to educate patrons on how to use the system. When the kiosk was added in January, Bowman assigned employees to stand at the front door and the machine, explaining the process along the way.

"I think [the new system] is going to be confusing to our patrons because we're just trying now to get them used to the kiosks," she said. "But I know there's no easy solution. It's a difficult balance."